Warning as scam callers claim to be from Lincolnshire County Council

Paul Fisher

Lincolnshire Trading Standards is warning residents to be on their guard for bogus calls after a number of people have reported being called by the county council.

Over the past few days, members of the public have contacted Trading Standards to say they have been targeted by someone claiming to be calling from various councils, including Lincolnshire County Council.

Whilst some of the calls have come from a private number, others are coming from the legitimate telephone number of a council in the UK.

In each case the caller claims that they are calling from the council about an accident that happened last year, sometimes suggesting that it may be possible to claim compensation.

Some of those targeted have taken to social media to warn others about the scam: “They said they were calling from the town council but called from a private number. They were asking for lots of information about an accident which never happened. Luckily I clicked on to this and as soon as I started asking questions they hung up. Be careful!”

Other users said: “I received a call from them two days ago claiming to be from Lincolnshire County Council. The gentleman on the other end of the phone had very broken English. I just hung up.”

“I thought something was amiss when I was called by the council asking for my details following an accident. I’ve never had an accident, so I quickly put the phone down. I called 1471. The number I got was 0126853333 – Basildon Council. I called the number back and Basildon Council said they were subject to this scam.”

Kirsty Toyne, principal trading standards officer at Lincolnshire Trading Standards warns people not to fall for the scam:“If you receive a phone call like this one please just hang up. Lincolnshire County Council will never contact you in this way so you know it’s a bogus call.

“It’s not clear what the fraudsters will do with any information gained so please do not give out any of your personal information to them. Just put the phone down”

If you have been affected by the scam, please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk

You can find out the latest scam warnings by following @Lincsts or like Lincolnshire Trading Standards on Facebook.